Mastering the Five TrackMan Imperatives—My Blueprint for Relentless Ball‑Striking Consistency

When a golfer invites me to be their golf coach and thought partner, my job is to filter noise, isolate the signal, and translate advanced swing science into strategic priorities that move the needle immediately. Everything I teach at EJS Golf and inside The Science of Better Golf (SBG) Community is organized around five non‑negotiables called the TrackMan Imperatives. No matter your pattern—stacked, centered, tilted, shallow, rotational—if you control these five, you control impact. And if you control impact, you control ball flight, scoring, and ultimately confidence.

I’ll walk you through how I evaluate, coach, and train each imperative on the lesson tee, in my studio at McCormick Ranch, and in our SBG online sessions where we review member swings, track progress, and apply data in real time. Along the way I’ll point you toward deeper learning resources on my main site, EJS Golf (see the Blog, About, and Practice Guide pages), and invite you to join the community conversation in The Science of Better Golf where we turn concepts into lasting skill.

Low Point Control—The Bedrock of “Swing Mastery”

My first diagnostic question is always: How tightly can you control the absolute bottom of your swing arc? Players who can land the low point within roughly half an inch (±0.5 in / 1.2 cm) of intention own their strike. That kind of precision locks in dynamic loft, compression, face‑vector timing, functional path at impact, and a manageable angle of attack. Contrast that with the three‑inch scatter pattern I routinely see in double‑digit handicaps and you start to understand why good swings produce bad shots: the club is arriving in a different part of its arc every time.

I evaluate three primary drivers of low‑point consistency. Structure—how ribcage, pelvis, lead wrist, trail wrist, and clubhead are arranged in three‑dimensional space relative to the golf ball. Wrist‑delivery pattern—can you reproduce the same flexion/extension, radial/ulnar, and rotational signature swing after swing, or does the handle back up, dump, or stall? Face‑squaring requirement—if you must rotate the face more than roughly a degree and a half late in the downswing to find target, the bottom wanders. Equipment adds another layer: CG height, shaft deflection, and swingweight all modulate how reliably the club returns to the ball.

To make this visible, I use what I call the M‑Line—a reference drawn from approximate swing low point up through the lead shoulder, lead hip, hands, and clubhead at impact. Elite ball‑strikers keep those checkpoints broadly aligned along that functional vector from shaft‑parallel down into and through the ball. If the lead shoulder outruns the line, angle of attack tends to dive more negative unless the hands counter by scooping—thin and high‑spin cuts show up fast. If the lead hip races ahead, swing direction can tip excessively in‑to‑out and dynamic loft collapses—low, diving hooks. Clean that structure up at setup—ball slightly back, handle appropriate to shot, balanced tilt—and then train it with Towel‑and‑Tee drill to ingrain predictable wrist delivery and low‑point precision.

Swing Direction—The Silent Governor of Face‑Path Relations

Low point manages the vertical dimension of strike; swing direction manages the horizontal handshake between path and face. I define swing direction as the baseline directional bias of the club’s geometric centre as it passes through the hitting zone (hip‑high to hip‑high). Because swing direction sets the stage for both angle of attack and the delivered path at maximum deformation, it is the upstream controller of curvature.

Across the bag, skilled players shift intended swing direction to manage launch windows and curvature patterns: wedges commonly live several degrees left (think –6° neighborhood), mid‑irons trend milder left (around –3°), and drivers can nudge rightward (+2° or so) when a player wants a playable draw window without over‑tilting launch. The day‑to‑day tolerance I push for is ±1.5°. Go wider and you create large face‑to‑path differentials that spray curvature and contact.

I manipulate several levers to reshape swing direction. Structure again leads—pelvis location, trail arm depth, and thoracic orientation all bias the arc. Ball vs. handle position is the fast track: move the ball forward and the handle inward toward the sternum and you’ll tend to soften shaft lean, open the face relative to direction, and bend the path more inward—fade city. Move the ball back and post the handle inside the lead thigh and the path wants to travel outward—draw pattern. Eye-line control through subtle neck tilts is one of my favorite quick resets: eyes right encourages shallowing and outward motion; eyes left promotes steeper, inward motion. Length, lie, release pattern (planar vs. non‑planar), and how actively the player slides, pivots, or lowers the club all refine the outcome.

Swing Plane (VSP)—Trajectory, Release Identity, and Fit

Vertical Swing Plane (VSP) is the incline of the club’s orbit measured knee‑high to knee‑high. On launch monitors it shows up as a core control variable for trajectory, curvature windows, and release identity. Typical Tour‑level 7‑iron numbers cluster in the upper‑50s (roughly 56°‑60°); drivers flatten into the mid‑ to high‑40s (about 46°‑51°). Just as with swing direction, I want repeatability within roughly ±1.5° of the intended pattern.

Movement signatures matter. Highly rotational athletes drag the handle deeper and keep the club under the plane longer, producing lower VSP numbers. Players who stall pivot and throw the arms or extend the handle outward spike the plane taller. Historic outliers like Hogan lived on the shallow side—his famously low plane helped him control face rotation and spin loft to hit his trademark flights.

To coach plane, I first clarify a player’s preferred release architecture. A more planar / constant‑radius release (sustained flexion, handle leading) will naturally live lower. A more non‑planar / “elephant’s trunk” release (rapid extension/throw) sends the club vertical. From there we test how torso‑pelvis rotation ratios, lead arm pitch, stance width, and even shaft fit influence VSP. Small setup or backswing adjustments can pull a player into the correct zone without wholesale reconstruction.

Centeredness of Contact—Separating “Good” from “World‑Class”

Nothing separates average from elite faster than centredness. Move strike location a quarter‑inch off centre and you change ball speed, spin loft, gear effect, and start direction—often enough to miss greens, distort distances, and wreck dispersion patterns. World‑class strikers keep horizontal and vertical miss within roughly ±0.3 in (0.8 cm).

I audit centeredness by watching how a player manages what I call the swing radii stack: club head to mid‑hands; mid‑hands to trail elbow; trail elbow to the C7/T1 junction; and the full player radius from upper spine to ball. If any link lengthens or collapses inconsistently, the strike pattern walks heel‑toe or high‑low. Heel‑toe pressure shifts are the common saboteur: a player sets up over arches, then drifts to toes in transition, and the strike walks heel‑side. Reverse it and you’ll see toe strikes.

Corrective work starts with down‑the‑line structure and pressure mapping. Stabilize foot loading patterns, clean up stance width and foot flare, and monitor whether the pelvis drifts away or toward the ball. Combine that with low‑point calibration drills and slow‑motion centered‑face awareness strikes (impact bag, foot spray, face tape, or dry‑erase) and we can shrink strike dispersion into that 0.3‑inch window surprisingly fast.

Club Speed & Ball Speed—The Kinetic Symphony (Delivered On Time)

Speed is not just “swing harder.” It’s organize forces earlier, longer, and more efficiently—then deliver them on time at impact. Players who keep club‑speed dispersion inside about ±1.5 mph and spin volatility inside ~300 rpm don’t just hit it far; they hit it predictably far.

I coach speed through four complementary laws:

Law 1 – Increase Size of Movement. Expand arc length and width through thoracic rotation, hip mobility, and full‑spine extension. Many aging players gain club speed simply by restoring turn and width.

Law 2 – Increase Total Linear Work. Force applied earlier along the downswing arc converts to more usable speed than late, frantic yanks. Ground early, push, post.

Law 3 – Increase Rotation Around the Club’s COM. Efficient angular velocity around the club’s centre of mass multiplies distance when synced with linear motion.

Law 4 – Increase Coupling Force. The unhinge rate of the wrists—timed, not thrown—amplifies Laws 1 and 2. Distal strength (forearms, hands, lower body stabilisers) lets you wield that coupling force without losing the handle.

Vertical Ground Reaction Force (vGRF) is my preferred power accelerator. Elite players routinely spike well above body weight; long‑drive athletes go far beyond. The key is sequencing: post, push, and then rotate so that verticals feed angular speed instead of dumping the handle. Hand‑speed checkpoints help: roughly 52 cm pre‑impact peak hand speed for a driver, mid‑40s cm range for middle irons, drifting shorter as clubs shorten. If hand speed peaks in the wrong zone—too late or too early—clubhead speed suffers and strike control erodes.

My favorite teaching analogy here is the Skater in a Halfpipe. Drop down (load), drive through the bottom (linear + vertical force), then redirect and rotate up the wall (angular release). Get the timing and direction right and speed shows up almost automatically.

Integrating the Imperatives—From Measurement to Habitual Excellence

None of these imperatives live in isolation. Improve low point and centeredness tightens. Clean up swing direction and swing plane falls into place. Add speed on time and you gain distance without sacrificing dispersion—if low point and centeredness stay disciplined. My full coaching model—what you see in my bay, on the range, and inside the SBG Community—follows a repeatable cycle:

1. Measure the five imperatives with feedback tools (launch monitor, high‑speed video, pressure mapping, face‑contact tracking).

2. Map structure against function: Are body segments organized to allow tolerances, or are we asking the player to perform compensations?

3. Educate the player in plain language so they understand cause → effect and can self‑coach between sessions.

4. Prescribe the single highest‑leverage intervention first. No “get worse to get better.” Day‑one wins build buy‑in and momentum.

5. Re‑test and refine tolerances as patterns stabilize.

Next Steps

If you’re serious about becoming a ball striking machine, start where change begins: find and control your low point. From there we’ll build outward into swing direction, validate swing plane, stabilize centeredness, and scale speed.

You can book in‑person or virtual coaching, dive into my long‑form education, and access tools that help you track these metrics on my website at EJSGolf.com.